Because of your generosity, Changing Worlds was able to maintain and deliver high-quality programming in 2021. Innovating at every turn, we directly served more than 1,500 young people this past school year!

Changing Worlds is applying essential lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. We are going deeper with trusted partners by extending the length of residencies and reaching more grade levels. Because the role of the arts in healing became very clear this past year, our staff has implemented new healing approaches that cherish each young person as both an individual, and an asset, capable of extraordinary acts of creativity, compassion and action.

We also have many stories to share about the resilience of our city during this past year! Listen to the testimony of a classroom teacher at Ashe Elementary about the impact of our music programs…Sometimes we sing the songs in class even when we don’t have music class! (Remember this spontaneous singing occurred during remote learning, which makes the story even more powerful.) Another teacher’s story that moved us came from a new partner, Chicago Quest, which hosted a visual storytelling project…I was impressed by how many of our shy students turned on their cameras to show their drawings. This felt like a victory.

Please help us continue winning small and monumental victories across Chicago this year while you support young people as they sing their songs and tell their stories. Your donation will bring the power of the Arts to hundreds of students in 25-30 schools.

Changing Worlds began as a photography/oral history documentation project in 1996 and then in 2011 merged with The Shanti Foundation for Peace to expand the organization's programming to include arts-based peace and non-violence programming in Chicago and Evanston. In spring of 2019, Changing Worlds expanded its music offerings and welcomed the well-regarded programs of Foundations of Music.

Distinguishing factors of Changing Worlds' program delivery include:

An ongoing Commitment to Chicago's youth: This dedication is reflected in our staff’s fluency and experience in research-based best practices in positive youth development, arts integration, trauma informed arts practices, and learner-centered approaches that lead to measurable outcomes.
Thematic Units: Developed in response to social justice issues, Changing Worlds has a variety of thematic programs which respond to teacher's expressed needs for classroom interventions and align with student interests to ensure relevance and timeliness.
Cross-Cultural Connections & Personal Narratives: Changing Worlds is also devoted to amplifying student identity and voices to celebrate the ethnic/racial/geographic identities of our learners.

Changing Worlds Annual Appeal

By Changing Worlds

Changing Worlds Annual Appeal

A World of Difference

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